Free Renegade by Cambria Hebert Page B

gunning the engine. The purring sound it made was sweet. He appeared in the doorway, dripping blood, covered in soot and looking mighty deadly.
     
    I drove forward, leaving skid marks on the marble and hunching forward over the handle bars. He jumped out of the way as I sped past and through the foyer, right out the open front door.
     
    There was a surprised demon outside, trying to close up the drawbridge as fast as he could, but it was only half raised. I looked at him and grinned. Then I pulled back on the throttle and let loose, flying forward up the drawbridge and then shooting out across the moat into the open sky.
     
    I landed hard on the other side, the engine of the Harley sputtering slightly, but I revved it again and it came back stronger than ever. I could hear commotion behind me. I could hear Leviathan screaming, but I didn’t look back.
     
    I grinned, gave a shout of victory, and sped off, leaving billowing grey dust in my wake.
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Heven
     
    When the final bell for the day rang, I breathed a sigh of relief. Whoever said senior year was the best clearly didn’t know anything. How was I supposed to care about parties and dances or even college when my mother’s soul was trapped in hell and my family was being wiped out by a Prince of Hell who just happened to think he had claim on me?
     
    I went to my locker to gather what I needed before heading out to my car. (Actually, it was my mom’s car… I always wanted a car of my own, but I hadn’t wanted it this way.) With my packed bag in hand, I slammed the locker and headed toward the doors that led to the parking lot. There were groups of people everywhere, talking and laughing. I wondered if maybe I would be among them if my life hadn’t so drastically changed in the last year.
     
    I was almost outside when I glanced down the hallway and saw Cole and Kimber. He was carrying a duffle bag and she was walking along beside him with her cheerleading bag in her hand. I wondered how that was going. Being head cheerleader and the most talked about girl in school had to be interesting.
     
    I pushed away from the doors and walked down the hall, calling out to Cole. He stopped and turned around, smiling, and I noticed Kimber was a lot slower to turn. It didn’t escape my notice that her aura flared red as I approached, telling me her jealousy toward me wasn’t gone.
     
    It made me doubt what I was about to do.
     
    “Heading to football practice?” I asked Cole.
     
    “Yeah, and if I’m late coach’ll make me do extra laps. I gotta go.” He gave me a grin and turned to leave. Kimber made a move to follow him and his aura flared with cloudy, dull colors.
     
    “Kimber, wait,” I said. “I was hoping we could talk.”
     
    She stopped and turned back, and as he got farther away, Cole’s aura cleared up.
     
    “What?” Kimber said impatiently.
     
    “I want you to come stay with us,” I rushed out before I could change my mind.
     
    “You what?” she said, a look of disbelief on her face. I couldn’t blame her. I couldn’t believe what I was saying either.
     
    “I know your parents aren’t home. They never are. I’m sure staying at your house is…” I looked for a word that wouldn’t put her on the defensive. “Boring. There’s plenty of room at the farm, so why not come stay there?”
     
    “You, me, and Sam all under the same roof?” She looked at me like I had five heads.
     
    “Gran, too.” I reminded her.
     
    Suspicion bloomed around her, but underneath that the vibrant red lost some of its vibrancy and I also noticed there was an increase in the amount of green and blue in her aura. Cole was right. She needed someone and the idea of not living alone appealed to her. Even if that meant living with me.
     
    Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”
     
    “I told you, so you won’t be alone.”
     
    She shook her head. “What do you care if I’m alone? You made it clear we aren’t friends anymore.”
     
    “We